Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
How difficult can it be to make perfect hard boiled eggs? All you need is eggs and hot water, right? Well, not exactly. Of the many methods I have tried, some resulted in eggs that were impossible to peel. Others...
Can You Sex an Egg Before It Hatches?
Numerous folk methods floating around the internet claim to accurately determine the sex of an egg before or during incubation. But do they work? Can you really sex an egg before it hatches? Technically the gender ratio of chicks at...
How Much Milk to Bottle Feed an Orphan Goat
Nubian doe Frosty was extremely timid and cautious. Before she would do anything new, she took her sweet time checking things out. So when she had her first kid, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a mother. She...
Homemade Mayonnaise from Homegrown Eggs
Making homemade mayonnaise is unbelievably easy. Just whip together fresh homegrown eggs or egg yolks, vinegar or lemon juice, salt, and oil. Exactly what ingredients you use and how you put them together is the secret to making homemade mayonnaise...
Chicken Idioms and Their Origins
Chickens have been associated with people for so long that our language is peppered with idioms deriving from that association. Even city folks who have never seen a live chicken use such expressions, often without realizing what they actually mean....
Corned Venison
Deer hunting season means time to replenish the year’s supply of venison. One of the things I look forward to each fall is making corned venison. It’s so easy to make, is more healthful than lunch meat from the store,...
Can You Recycle Soap Scraps?
Can you recycle soap scraps? That’s the question I asked a soap-making friend. Her response was, “Try it and see.” Well, I’m not into “try it and see” if I can find someone who has already tried it. So I...
Pickled Corn on the Cob
When you grow your own sweet corn, you can have plenty of fresh, tender ears to eat, can, freeze, and make yummy pickled corn on the cob. But the first order of business is to choose the right variety for...
12 Signs a Goat Is About to Kid
If you don’t know when a doe is bred, you can’t accurately predict when she will have her kids. So you’re left with watching for signs that the goat is about to kid. Kidding Signs Ideally you will be able...
Berry Butter — Strawberry or Blueberry
Summer brings an abundance of strawberries, then blueberries, to our Tennessee farm. One of the many ways we enjoy berries is in berry butter. It’s delicious on toast or biscuits and is incredibly easy to make. Making Berry Butter We...
Vinegar in Your Chickens’ Water — Good Idea or Not?
Understanding whether or not vinegar in your chickens’ water promotes flock health requires first understanding pH. In case you missed, or forgot, this part of chemistry class, let’s start with a quick review. The pH Scale The acidity or alkalinity...